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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · shower · wind · squash · spell · present · mark · lash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. clip — for paper
  5. squash — the sport
  6. clip — a video
  7. spell — a short time
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. spell — letters
  12. present — there
  13. shower — rain
  14. squash — to crush
  15. mark — a grade
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mark — a trace
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. present — a gift
  20. spell — magic
  21. present — the time now
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. clip — to cut
  24. lash — an eyelash

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com